Lifetime Achievement Idea of creating value from the Earth led Arlen Edgar to oil industry

Mella McEwenMidland Reporter-Telegram

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, April 12, 2008

Longtime Midlander Arlen Edgar grew up in Stephenville on the fringes of fabled oilfields at Desdemona and Ranger.

"Because I saw oil production in those areas growing, up, it piqued my interest. I was intrigued with the idea of taking something out of the ground and creating value from it," said Edgar, recipient of the Hearst Energy Award for Lifetime Achievement. "I've often thought that if I hadn't gone into oil and gas, I would have gone into mining."

Another reason for his interest in the oil and gas industry, he recalled recently in his downtown Midland office, was an uncle in the business, active n Mexia, Corsicana and Orange. "He was a flamboyant, bantam rooster of an oil man. He had his own plane and just blew my mind."

He wasn't sure, he said, how to find his way into the oil and gas business until he was a high school junior, when a friend a year ahead of him in school mentioned plans to become a petroleum engineer.

"I told him I hadn't heard of that, tell me about it," Edgar said. He went on to earn an associate's degree in engineering from Tarleton State College and a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Edgar spent the three summers before college graduation working in the Permian Basin oil fields around Andrews, North Cowden and Sweetwater "earning enough money to barely eke out the school year." When he graduated, he went to work for the company that employed him during those three summers, Pan American Petroleum, and he jumped at their offer to move to Odessa. He would later move to Midland, serving as junior and then intermediate engineer.

"As a teen, I had read a magazine article on Midland and thought it would be a wonderful place to live," he said.

Starting his career with Pan American, "I had great mentors, from drilling foremen to area managers. They were old-time oilmen who got out of school during the Great Depression. They knew the oil fields and were great teachers. They were also very loyal to the company and wouldn't do anything to jeopardize a job. They were tough guys but willing to help those who wanted to work do the best job they could."

After three years in Midland, Edgar was asked to move to Fort Worth. At the same time, he was offered a job with Leibrock, Landreth, Campbell and Callaway, a consulting engineering firm he described as comprised of partners who were entrepreneurs and anxious to start a company in the energy chemicals field. "They wanted someone to do evaluations. After some thought, I accepted the job and stayed there six years, becoming manager of the consulting division." He also served as secretary and a director of Kanata Exploration, a Canadian production company and Offshore Exploration Company, which explored for oil and gas in south Louisiana.

In 1967, Bob Landreth Sr. started Tipperary Land and Exploration and Edgar joined the new company, which was involved in cattle, shrimp farming and hard minerals and "no oil."

Said Edgar, "I got to see all of Australia except the extreme northwest corner. Our biggest success was the discovery of a major bauxite deposit."

Spending four years dividing his time between Australia and the United States, along with a stint as president of the Society of Petroleum Engineers prompted him to become a student of the international petroleum industry, he said.

"Independents may participate mainly in domestic projects, but it is essential to understand what is going on in the world in order to make good investment decisions. So many world events can impact prices."

After four years with Tipperary, he joined Western States Producing Company as general manager of the San Antonio company's Midland office. Two years later, he became an independent investor and consultant.

"I can't say I intended to be independent, but it's been a lot of fun," he said. "If I'd been asked when I got out of school what I'd be doing 40 years later, I'd have said I hoped to be with a major oil company doing a job I enjoyed. I couldn't envision being on my own. In fact, my father, a college professor who was very cautious, didn't like it when I left Pan American"

He started out doing a lot of consulting and gradually began participating in drilling deals, buying production and royalties. His time now, he said, is spent investing, especially in drilling deals. Along the way, he added, he also got involved in professional organizations, civic endeavors and church activities.

"Midland is an exceptional place," he said. "I'm amazed at the caliber of people and what they've been able to accomplish."